Morgan’s Point Woman Charged in Jewelry Thefts

A woman suspected of burglarizing at least two area homes was in the Bell County Jail Thursday evening after police found she was in possession of stolen jewelry.

42-year-old Maria Vazquez De Contreras of Morgan's Point Resort is charged with burglary of a habitation and is being held on $100,000 bond. According to Morgan's Point police, De Contreras was arrested Sunday following a disturbance call. The responding officers recovered jewelry that was stolen during a home burglary in December of last year. De Contreras was later released.

On Tuesday, police recovered jewelry stolen during a burglary that took place Saturday, April 11 and later connected the stolen items to De Contreras. Police obtained a search warrant for the woman's home on Artesian Drive and executed it on Wednesday. They seized around 200 pieces of jewelry, including items that were stolen in the December break-in.

Contreras, who was not home when the search was conducted, was later arrested at a Temple motel.

Morgan's Point Police Chief Fred Churchill said in a press released Thursday that several Bell County law enforcement offices have been contacted about the stolen jewelry in hopes of identifying other victims.